


A Shadow that Stares Back

by buzzbuzz34



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Darkness, Gen, Spoilers for The Magnus Archives Season 5, Undead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28966902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buzzbuzz34/pseuds/buzzbuzz34
Summary: Sasha James should have been Archivist, until Jonah found out that Jon was so heavily marked by the Fears.But as old Archivists arise to protect the panopticon, the real Sasha is among them, a shell of her former self.
Kudos: 12





	A Shadow that Stares Back

Jon stopped in his tracks. 

“What is it?” Martin asked. In the darkness of the tunnels, they walked hand-in-hand, and their only direction was from Jon’s connection to the Eye that returned ever so slightly as they neared the surface and his memory of the maps Georgie had drawn for them. 

“There’s… another Archivist ahead of us.”

“What do we do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Will it come after you? Us?” Martin questioned, scanning the darkness as if he could see anything despite there being no light source. “Can it hurt you?”

Martin could feel Jon shrug as he squeezed Martin’s hand a little bit tighter. “I honestly have no idea down here. Not with these creatures.”

“Don’t suppose you know if you’ll be able to smite them either, if they do notice you and attack, or something.”

“No idea. But… that’s not all.”

“Oh, there’s more?” Martin said with mock enthusiasm. “I thought encountering an old, decrepit zombie Archivist was more than enough excitement for a single intangible day.”

“It’s Sasha.”

Martin froze entirely. “Sasha?”

“Sasha James. The original one. The _real_ one.”

“I thought she died?”

Jon replied, “What does death mean in a world like this anyway? Besides, we really only had the not-them’s word that she died.” He paused, then continued, “Sasha was supposed to be Archivist. She _should_ have been Archivist, except Jonah found me, already marked by so many Fears. But Sasha still had, or has, that tie to the Archives and to the role of its keeper. Which is why she’s here now.”

“Can we… talk to her?”

Jon sighed, and Martin knew the answer. He’d known the answer before he asked, truly, but that didn’t stop him.

“I don’t believe it would be wise.”

“But… if there is _any_ of her left in there… she was our friend! At least, I think she was…”

“We can’t remember her,” Jon said, turning to face Martin even though they still couldn’t see each other in the darkness. “And you will not want to see her like that. You don’t want your only memory of the real Sasha to be whatever is left in that room. I think we can avoid her, if we backtrack a little and take the other passage.”

He tugged gently on Martin’s hand, to lead him away, but Martin stood fast. 

“I have to try and talk to her.”

“Martin…”

“Please. I have to try.”

For a moment, Jon hesitated, then let out a heavy breath. “She might communicate to Jonah, to the panopticon, that someone is in the tunnels. It is a risk to us, and to Georgie, Melanie, and the Cult. We’re already risking enough.”

“I know,” Martin snapped, then squeezed Jon’s hand a couple times in apology for his brusqueness. 

Before he allowed himself to be moved, however, footsteps sounded at the far end of the corridor and a pale green light emanated from the source. It was a gaunt individual with two glowing eyes. If it hadn’t been walking and moving toward Martin and Jon, it would look dead. It _should_ have been dead. 

But instead, it stepped toward them, slowly and methodically, and let out a low growl when the light of its eyes fell upon the intruders.

“She’s not a full Archivist,” Jon remarked. “Because she never technically had the role, she’s only partially there.”

“That’s why she doesn’t have the one eye? And why she isn’t just bone?” Martin turned his head slightly toward him.

“Partially. She also hasn’t been dead all that long, and I suspect that has something to do with it too.”

“But if she’s only _part_ Archivist monster thing, maybe there’s a chance?” Martin urged. “Maybe she won’t tell Jonah, maybe we can… get through to her or something?”

Before Jon could make any kind of decision, the creature stepped closer and groaned again. 

Martin faced it – _her_ – and called, “Sasha? “Sasha, it’s me, Martin. We… we used to work together, in the Archives. We were friends, I think. Do you remember me?”

She stopped moving. 

“Right, it’s me. I’m the one that disappeared for days? And then lived in the Archives with a fire extinguisher? We worked together. You and Tim did most of the work, really, I kept to myself, but…” He took a deep breath. “And Jon is here, too. Jon, our boss?”

“We want to help you rest,” he said softly. “You deserve at least that much.”

In the faint, green light that shone from the-thing-that-was-once-Sasha, it was nearly impossible to make out any details of her appearance, and Martin was grateful for that. Jon was right; he didn’t want to remember Sasha like that, as a zombie, an unwitting and unwilling servant of the Eye and Jonah even after she was dead and gone. It hurt to have no memory of her, to not even know what she looked like, but to see her like that was far from a fitting replacement. 

“Rest…” She hissed. “Please…”

“Can we go by you?” Martin asked. “If we can go past, we can fix this. We can help you.”

The Archivist stepped to the side of the tunnel, and Jon pulled Martin along so that they could move by Sasha and be safely on their way. 

“Thank you,” Martin said. “Thank you, Sasha.”

She said nothing more until they were far away from her, turning down another corridor, and her voice echoed after them. 

“There is no fixing this, Martin. There is no helping me now.”

Martin held Jon’s hand tighter and carried on even as his heart sunk. 

There had to be a way to fix things. Maybe the world wouldn’t go back to normal, so to speak, but it had to get better. 

Sasha deserved better than to be a monster. And Martin would do whatever he could to make sure she finally received some peace. 

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really expect this to happen, but the idea of them finding Sasha is so full of angst that I would love it.   
> (However - Gertrude Archivist monster??? I don't know I just like the Suffering lol)
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!! If you want to find more of my writing, head on over to kellanswritingblog.tumblr.com, or feel free to check out my personal, celsidebottom.tumblr.com


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